Vikings' Erin Henderson suing over drunk driving arrest last week

Vikings linebacker Erin Henderson is suing the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to prevent the state from revoking his driver's license after Eden Prairie police arrested him last week on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and allegedly possessing a controlled substance.

It was the third time this month a Vikings player was arrested.

Henderson asked a Hennepin County judge to let him keep his license after he was detained early Nov. 19. He registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.11, according to a petition the player filed in District Court, but claims that police coerced him into a submitting to a breath test, violating his constitutional rights.

08 or higher is considered legally impaired under Minnesota law. Henderson has not been charged with a crime.

The Vikings' leading tackler did not travel to Green Bay for last Sunday's 26-26 tie with the Packers after missing three practices last week because of what coach Leslie Frazier described as "personal reasons."

Frazier said Wednesday he learned about Henderson's arrest "pretty soon after it happened" but did not discipline him. Henderson said his arrest did not cause him to miss practice or the Packers game, reiterating his absence was due to "a personal issue."

He declined to elaborate.

"No, at this point I don't really care to," Henderson told reporters in the locker room. "It's personal, as I said before. But I have been given the tools and the resources by the organization and the sources to help me along and further myself in this process and continue to become the person that I know I can be going forward."

Frazier said Henderson would play Sunday against the Chicago Bears at the Metrodome but was unlikely to start at middle linebacker ahead of Audie Cole, who excelled in his absence against the Packers.

Henderson referred questions about his arrest to defense attorney, David Valentini.

"It is a strange situation, but I can't really go into too much detail in depth right now as far as the legal matters go," Henderson said. "We'll kind of let the things play out the way that they will. I'm sure you guys will learn more in the future, but at this point right now I'm not at liberty to discuss that."

In a statement, Eden Prairie police said they arrested Henderson about 3:19 a.m. Nov. 19 for probable cause DWI and possession of a controlled substance at the Fredrick-Miller Spring near Flying Cloud Drive and Spring Road. He was booked at the police station and released. An investigation is pending.

Henderson's arrest marked the third time a Vikings player has been arrested in the past three weeks.

Hennepin County Prosecutor Mike Freeman on Wednesday charged cornerback A.J. Jefferson with felony domestic assault for allegedly strangling his girlfriend early Monday at the couple's home in Eden Prairie. He remains jailed on $40,000 bond.

The Vikings released Jefferson on Monday morning, three hours after he was booked.

Wide receiver Jerome Simpson faces a Dec. 12 court appearance in Minneapolis after being charged with third-degree driving while intoxicated and refusing a breath test following his arrest Nov. 9 on Interstate 494 outside downtown Minneapolis.

"The fact that we have had three recent off-field situations is unacceptable and disappointing," Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said in a statement Wednesday. "Our organization looks at each situation and the circumstances involved to determine our actions with those players and how to best move forward.

"The Vikings have a comprehensive approach with our player development program and excellent resources that are a part of this organization, but certainly we will take a methodical look at how we can improve upon our current programs to prevent these situations in the future."

Henderson's arrest raised questions about what the Vikings knew, when they knew it and why they chose not to disclose information about it until the Pioneer Press broke the story Wednesday morning.

At his news conference, Frazier said he knew about Henderson's arrest almost immediately but declined to reveal any details.

"It was a personal matter, and for me to go into detail about that situation ... " the coach said. "What you know and what most people know is what they see in the report, but it's better for me to leave it at what I said. Whatever the follow-up to that is, or whatever may come from it, it comes from it."

A team source said the Vikings were prohibited from elaborating on Henderson's issues because of health privacy laws.

An apologetic Henderson 27, described the last week as "eye-opening."

"It was a wake-up call for me and, honestly, it may be something that I needed in the long run; something I think will help me progress and become the person I'm capable of being and the man that I want to be," he said.

"It was a tough situation having to sit at home and watch your teammates and watch your guys go out there to battle. You never want to be at home in a situation like that."

Henderson said the decision to stay away last week was mutual.

"All parties involved felt that it might be best to kind of step away from the game for a second. You guys know there can be a lot of stress and a lot of pressure that goes along with this gig, and sometimes it's best to just get away for a second and clear your head," he said.

"I think he's in a tough place," Valentini said. "He's a great guy. He's been having a pretty good season but there's some personal matters he's dealing with."

Henderson's driver's license was revoked after his arrest. He had seven days to challenge Minnesota's implied consent law that says a test may be required of a person "when an officer has probable cause to believe the person was driving, operating, or in physical control of a motor vehicle."

In his petition to retain driving privileges, Henderson claims police did not have "articulable grounds to make an investigatory stop" and did not have "reasonable and probable cause" to believe Henderson had violated Minnesota's implied consent laws.

According to his petition, Henderson was driving under the posted speed limit, was not driving erratically and did not fail field sobriety tests conducted after he was pulled over.

Henderson also claims Eden Prairie police officer Bryan Dean told him refusal to submit to breath or blood testing was a crime, "rendering the threat unconstitutionally erroneous and coercive," according to his petition.

Henderson leads the Vikings with 120 tackles and is on pace for 214, which would be the most in a season since Scott Studwell's 215 in 1983. He also leads the team with 13 tackles for loss and is tied for the lead with two interceptions.

Frazier was asked to reconcile how inconsistently the Vikings have disciplined the three players who were arrested this month.

"It may seem that way on the surface, but I'll use this analogy: I don't know if you have kids or not. Sometimes there are things that happen and you have two or three kids, four kids, five kids, whatever," he said. "But in each situation you're trying to be consistent, you're trying to be fair about what you're doing, but at the same time you're dealing with each situation on an individual basis.

"I think that's what we've tried to do here, deal with each situation on an individual basis. Now, right, wrong or indifferent, that's what's happening."